3rd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

The 3rd Division (第三師団, Dai-san shidan) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Kō-heidan (幸兵団).

3rd Division
Headquarter of the 3rd Division in 1911, Nagoya
Active1888–1945
Country Empire of Japan
BranchImperial Japanese Army
TypeInfantry
Garrison/HQNagoya, Aichi, Japan
EngagementsFirst Sino-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
Siberian Intervention
Shandong Incident
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Taro Katsura
Yoshimichi Hasegawa
Yusaku Uehara
Nobuyoshi Muto

History

The 3rd Division was formed in Nagoya in January 1871 as the Nagoya Garrison (名古屋鎮台, Nagoya chindai), one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Nagoya Garrison had responsibility for the central region of Japan. This region was known as the Chūbu district, and stretched from Aichi Prefecture to Ishikawa Prefecture. Upon the recommendations of the Prussian military advisor Jakob Meckel to the Japanese government, the six regional commands were transformed into divisions under the army reorganization of 14 May 1888.

As one of the oldest divisions in the Imperial Japanese Army, the 3rd Division participated in combat operations during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the Siberian Intervention, and the Shandong Incident.

Some of its more noteworthy commanders included Katsura Taro, Hasegawa Yoshimichi, Uehara Yusaku and Nobuyoshi Muto.

9 December 1938, the 3rd Division was subordinated to 11th Army and was subsequently was one of the divisions assigned to the China Expeditionary Army (CGA) headquartered in Nanjing. As one of the most powerful units ("crack" units) in the theatre, the 3rd Division served in nearly every battle in central China. During the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign it was converted into a triangular division on July 4, 1942. It later served, for a time as a headquarters and garrison division for strategic Zhejiang Province.

Battles and Campaigns fought in China (1937–1945)

BattleActions start date
data-sort-type="date"		Area
Battle of Shanghai22 August 1937Chuanshakou - Shanghai
Battle of Xuzhou14 February 1938south of Xuzhou
Battle of Wuhan22 August 1938Xinyang
Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang3 May 1939Tongbai - Suixian
Battle of Changsha (1939)1 September 1939Hubei - Hunan - Changsha
1939-40 Winter Offensive13 December 1939Tingsiqiao - Xinyang
Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang1 May 1940Xiangyang - Xiakou, Nanzhang County
Central Hopei Operation23 November 1940Suizhou
Battle of South Henan24 January 1941Ye County, 保安鎮 city
Battle of Changsha (1941)7 September 1941south bank of Miluo River - Huashan, Xinhua County
Battle of Changsha (1942)24 December 1941Yueyang - Miluo River - Liuyang River - Miluo River
Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign15 May 1942?
Battle of West Hubei9 April 1943north coast of Dongting Lake
Battle of Changde2 November 1943south of Changde - Changde - south of Changde
Battle of Changsha (1944)27 May 1944Wanyang Shan - Liuyang
Battle of Guilin-LiuzhouSeptember 1944southern Liuzhou

At the end of World War II, with the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army, the 3rd Division was formally disbanded in Zhejiang.

See also

Reference and further reading
    • Madej, W. Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Allentown, PA: Game Marketing Co. OCLC 8930220.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.